In the midst of the raging controversy between Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Centre, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and member of INDIA bloc MK Stalin Monday sided with West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, saying the Trinamool Congress supremo is "a shield" for the language and Bengalis.
His recent comment is in response to a letter from the Delhi Police where Bangla has been called "Bangladeshi language".
Speaking out “in the face of assault on non-Hindi languages”, Stalin, in a strongly worded post on X, said: “Hon’ble @MamataOfficial Didi stands as a shield for the language and people of West Bengal. She will not let this attack pass without a fitting response.” He also said it is a direct insult to the very language in which India’s national anthem was written in.
“Such statements are not inadvertent errors or slips. They expose the dark mindset of a regime that consistently undermines diversity and weaponises identity,” the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader added.
Also read: Mamata slams Delhi police for calling Bengali as ‘Bangladeshi’
The TMC on Sunday asked for an apology, describing it as an attempt to rob a constitutionally accepted Indian language of its identity. "Is there no end to @BJP4India's intolerance of Bengalis? After time and again harassing and arresting Bengali-speaking workers in BJP-ruled states, @AmitShah's @DelhiPolice have now gone down the path of no return by officially labelling our mother tongue, Bangla, as the 'Bangladeshi language'," the party's X post stated.
The Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre retaliated by attacking the TMC for protecting illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.
The current controversy erupted after CM Mamata, during her recent rallies, raised the issue of an allegation of harassment of migrant workers from Bengal in BJP-governed states on the suspicion that they were Bangladeshis.
What the letter said?
The 24th July letter by Inspector Amit Dutt of Lodhi Colony Police Station to Officer-in-charge Banga Bhawan asked for an interpreter to translate records from suspected Bangladeshi nationals.
It stated that police required an interpreter "who knows the language of Bangladeshi nationals" to interpret records for an eight-person case "strongly suspected to be Bangladeshi nationals illegally living in India."
During investigation, replica copies of national ID cards, birth certificate, bank account information and so on were recovered from the suspected Bangladeshi nationals. The suspected Bangladeshi nationals were detained and remanded in judicial custody on the order of the concerned court," wrote the letter.
Inspector Dutt, the Investigating Officer, stated in the letter that the identification papers bear texts in "Bangladeshi" language and are required to be translated into Hindi and English. "Now, for further investigation to carry on, it is requested that an official translator /interpreter well-versed in Bangladeshi national language may kindly be made available for the above purpose," the letter stated.
It is emphasised that the mandatory report would be a crucial piece of evidence in prosecuting successfully suspected Bangladeshi nationals on trial. Disposal of this letter at the earliest is solicited since the same is to be filed before the esteemed court in a time-bound manner." Any bills incurred upon the translation service will have to be paid by the department and a quote for the same may be informed in advance," Dutt said in the letter.
Even though the senior police officers confirmed the letter being dispatched to Banga Bhawan, a formal reply from Delhi Police is expected.
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